ABCFT - YOUnionews - March 5, 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED
ABCFT HAS A SIGNED SPRING 2021 HYBRID MOU TO TAKE THROUGH THE RATIFICATION PROCESS!
MOU RATIFICATION TIMELINE:
Now that ABCFT and ABCUSD have reached an agreement, the following will occur to ratify the MOU:
ABCFT Executive Board voted March 5th to approve the MOU to go to the Site Representatives for a ratification vote.
ABCFT Rep Council votes to March 8th approve the MOU to proceed to a member vote for ratification. If the Rep Council approves a ratification vote the negotiating team will release an annotated MOU to all ABCFT members on Tuesday morning.
ABCFT General membership meeting on March 9th will be held to review and discuss the MOU with any members who have general or specific questions.
There will be a ratification vote March 9th-10th by all ABCFT members.
Upon approval of the MOU, the district will be notified and it will be presented to the ABCUSD school board for approval.
You can find the 3.4.2021 Bargaining/COVID-19 Preparation update here
KEEPING YOU INFORMED- Secondary Grading Policy
Earlier this week, the negotiating team reached an agreement with the district regarding secondary grading policy. ABCFT has received some requests for clarification so we are sharing the responses.
1) Since "Asynchronous Wednesdays are designated for tutoring support and time for students to complete work previously assigned," is this the phrase we should use for Wednesdays on our engagement forms and check "Non-Instructional Day"?
You may use any number of variations for your engagement forms including the phrases above.
2) What is meant by “previously assigned work” for asynchronous Wednesdays?
The intent of previously assigned work is so students do not receive new work on asynchronous Wednesday.
3) Regarding Wednesdays, since "Students... should not be required to ... meet with teachers on these days," how will we take attendance? Or are we not taking attendance on Wednesdays anymore?
Yes, we are still required to meet virtually with students and take gap attendance during a 15 minute session on Wednesdays.
4) Is this the final grading policy or could there be an adjustment later in the semester (i.e., there are too many Fs and they send out a new policy to decrease Fs)?
This is the only grading policy for secondary for the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year.
KEEPING YOU INFORMED-COVID Vaccines for Educators
UPDATE (5:10 Friday)
The ABC School District is working to get information and codes out this weekend to those who completed the interest survey for the Cerritos HS clinic.
The employees will sign up for a time slot and let their supervisor know of the appointment time so they can be released to go and get their vaccination on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.
Employees will be given their second dose appointment before they leave the clinic and it will be at Cerritos High School again on Wednesday, April 7, 2021.
KAISER Permanente has a limited number of COVID vaccinations for educators who are members and nonmembers:
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has defined childcare and education workers as those who are at risk of occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2 through their work in any role in the following childcare and education settings:
· All formal and informal childcare workers, including day care providers
· All staff in colleges, universities, junior colleges, community colleges, and other postsecondary education facilities
· All staff in educational support services and administration
· All staff in Pre-kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools
· All staff in technical and trade schools
· Any other workers involved in child and/or student care, including school bus drivers and monitors, crosswalk guards, etc.
Employees who are eligible can get the vaccine from any provider that has been approved as a COVID-19 vaccine distributor by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
How to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination
To properly screen and physically distance people, Kaiser is providing the vaccine by appointment only.
Childcare and education workers should visit kp.org/covidvaccine to check appointment availability and follow instructions to book an appointment. Kaiser Permanente is vaccinating members and non-members. Some eligible education workers will be provided a unique, individual code from their employer. This code can be used to request an appointment but is not required. Individuals who don’t have access to kp.org may call 1-833-KP4-CARE or 1-833-574-2273 for assistance.
Please note that Kaiser is currently experiencing high call volumes and you may experience longer than normal wait times. Appointments will be scheduled as supply allows.
Proof of eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination appointment
Childcare and education workers who are receiving the vaccine due to their employment status may be required to bring one of the following documents and a photo ID to their appointment:
· Employee ID badge with photo; or
· Professional license or certificate; or
· Signed letter from employer on a letterhead; or
· Payment stub or timesheet
Childcare and education workers may also be asked for their company name and role at work.
Answers to your COVID-19 vaccine questions
Visit kp.org/covidvaccine to find the latest information on who we’re vaccinating now, when you’ll be able to get the vaccine, and our total vaccination progress across California.
You can also view additional information, including state eligibility guidelines, at COVID-19 — What employers need to know.
MEMBER BENEFITS - WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS
Maintaining our mental health and well-being is important for all of us. ABCFT will be offering Wellness Wednesdays from 3:00 to 3:30 pm members will have an opportunity to virtually participate in Guided Meditation and Chair Yoga. These weekly sessions will give members a chance to practice self-care.
In partnership with Kaiser Permanente, you can also access mindfulness resources for all ABCFT members. For Kaiser members, you have free access to the app Calm and myStrength which offers personalized self-care programs based on the cognitive behavioral therapy model. Please be kind to yourself and find time in your busy schedule to take care of yourself.
This week, Donna focuses on breath using breathing techniques and meditation to help find your center. Participants practice yoga movements focusing on balance and stretching.
The session closes with a quote from author, Tony Robbins,
“Where focus goes, energy flows.”
TOSA TIDBITS by David Franklin
GridView is Back??
Well, at least it's back on the webstore... for now. Our Google representative informed us this week that “the extension is now working with *some of the features disabled. The developer still plans to try to keep it up to date, but it will always be trying to catch up to changes.”
Our recommendation however, is still the same… we don’t recommend any Google Meet extensions. If you install and use an extension, then begin to have issues, disable it and try again without the extension.
*See the graphic for the disabled features.
Google Password Changes:
Beginning, Monday, March 8, 2021, the District will begin with its first security measure of a required password change for all ABC staff, followed by HS students, and MS students. Our goal is to complete the process for Secondary schools before Spring Break. Students of grades 5-6, 3-4, and TK-2 will occur on dates to be determined after a return to in-person teaching and learning has been completed.
All ABC staff and students will be required to reset their Google password to a new password during a 3-week window of time. Specified ABC staff and students will be asked to change and maintain their passwords for their district Google Accounts, to a personal password. During the 3-week transition, IT will support users by identifying those who have not made the change, and reach out to individuals as needed to complete the process. Hereafter, annual personal password resets for staff and grades 5-12 will follow ABC’s annual Cyber-Safety Month in October. (video)
To update your password, first click your profile icon, then follow the steps below...
“Basic Info” will indicate new date that password was changed
MEMBER ONLY RESOURCES
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH LESSON PLANS & RESOURCES
A Legacy of Empowerment: Women's History Month Lesson Plans
Use these timely preK-12 lesson plans and class activities to incorporate key figures and historical events in your Women’s History Month lesson planning. This Share My Lesson collection spans topics like women’s suffrage and women’s rights and features influential women in science, social justice and sports. Read this blog for more ideas on how to make Women's History Month relevant for all students. You may also find of interest the #MeToo resource collection on combating harassment and creating inclusive classrooms.
To read the rest of this article click here.
ABCFT PRESIDENT’S REPORT - Ray Gaer
Communication is a union’s most important tool for advocating for its members at the bargaining table. Every conversation with the membership is focused on the end result of negotiating for the future prosperity and wellbeing of ABCFT members. This weekly report aims to keep the membership informed about issues that impact their working/learning conditions and their mental well-being. Together we make the YOUnion.
It’s Friday at 12:15 and I’m preparing for what we hope will be our last negotiation session before a signed MOU (memorandum of understanding) is put out to the ABCFT membership for a ratification vote. I was talking with Jason Elias who is the CFT (California Federation of Teachers) Field Representative that supports the ABC Federation of Teachers. Jason was asking about how things are going in ABC. I relayed to him that we are days away from a MOU and that teachers have been extremely patient during the negotiations but that we need to get something signed ASAP. Since the agreement, we are working on in negotiations is an MOU a union typically does not take the MOU out for ratification. This is because MOU’s are for emergency situations or exceptions that are contract issues that need to be resolved in between the three-year Master Contract negotiations. I explained to Jason that we were going to take this MOU out to the membership for a vote because we believe that ABCFT members have the right to vote on such an important document concerning the safety and working conditions of members as we transition to in-person instruction. There have been a few local teachers’ unions that have taken their MOUs out for the membership to ratify but it is not typical.
This MOU is twelve months in the making but the ABCFT members guiding emails, texts, calls, meetings, and YOUnion chats have been a critical part of our information gathering process as a negotiating body. I was talking with another teacher union president and I was giving examples of how the YOUnion chats alone have impacted the bargaining process in a positive way. In my twenty-one years on the negotiating team, I have never seen union members more involved in negotiations. That being said there is also a downside. Things in negotiations change from session to session as the demands of the district, State, and the community put additional pressure on the bargaining process. I’m sure many of you were often frustrated as it seemed that our conversations in chats evolved and the goalposts changed. It has been much like painting a school bus while it is moving, challenging indeed.
Negotiating is a frustrating business and from the outside, it is sometimes hard to see what is happening at the table. The past twelve months have been a unique opportunity for members to feel like they are part of that process. The negotiating process is about ups and downs as the team uses leverage and pressure to negotiate the terms of an agreement. The ABCFT negotiating team has spent days, weeks, and months painstakingly crafting language for hybrid proposals (no less than a dozen different versions), safety proposals, and working conditions. It has been the most challenging negotiating event of my career and not everyone will be content with the results but the ABCFT negotiating team hopes you will be able to live with it and consequently you will vote to ratify the MOU.
UPDATE - we just finished negotiating today and we have a signed MOU. Please see the above ratification timeline.
More information to follow on Tuesday. Have a good weekend!
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
The latest CFT articles and news stories can be found here on the PreK12 news feed on the CFT.org website.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT President Randi Weingarten Welcomes Biden Administration’s Plan to Prioritize
Educators for Vaccinations
WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response to the announcement that the Biden administration will challenge every state to prioritize vaccinating educators and school staff, and will authorize the use of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership program to help achieve the goal of vaccinating all teachers and school-related personnel by the end of March 2021:
“What a tremendous relief to have a president who is meeting this moment of crisis. Vaccinations are a key ingredient to reopening schools safely, and this is the administration taking the steps to ramp up vaccinations for educators, which is great news for everyone who wants in-school learning. For almost a year, America’s educators have been working tirelessly to meet the needs of students and their families, in ways that are heroic but unsustainable. Parents are frustrated and educators are exhausted. But now, we have a science-based road map of mitigation, testing and vaccinations to get school buildings reopened safely and equitably; a true partner within the education community; and legislators to get this done.
“Yes, it requires resources, but it also requires leadership. Today, this White House reminded us that they see us, they respect our efforts, and they truly understand that, in order to make school reopening a reality, we need the testing and vaccination infrastructure to do it. For far too long, the rhetoric of prioritizing educators went unmatched with policy, action or effort. The Biden administration has stepped up, and our students, educators, school staff and communities will be better and safer for it.
“Getting our school buildings reopened safely doesn’t happen with wishful thinking. It happens through trust, collaboration, transparency and serious policy. By following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, and with the help of this federal commitment to prioritize teacher vaccinations, we’re confident that within the next weeks and months, we’ll be able to be back in classrooms, enabling the academic, social and emotional learning that we know happens best in person. We look forward to bringing our public schools back to life as places where children can thrive.”
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
California pushing teachers to front of vaccine line
California will release about 75,000 vaccine doses every week for counties to administer to teachers and other education workers, under a plan announced by the governor’s office Thursday that further prioritizes educators to quickly get schools reopened. The plan calls for counties to lead campaigns to get shots into the arms of K-12 teachers, child care workers and other school staff. Also, the state will host targeted drives for educators, including dedicated days for them at the Oakland Coliseum and California State University Los Angeles vaccination sites. Education workers will also be able to get doses from mobile units and community vaccination sites. To ensure educators get priority access to the vaccine delivery network, the state will provide single-use codes so they can make appointments using California’s online vaccination portal, myturn.ca.gov. The governor's office said it will allocate doses to counties based on the number of school employees there and also with an eye toward ensuring that students most affected by the pandemic - homeless and foster youth, low-income students and English learners - get back into the classroom.
San Francisco Chronicle The Press Democrat Palm Springs Desert Sun
Biden urges states to vaccinate teachers
President Joe Biden has urged all states to prioritize teachers for COVID-19 vaccinations so that all teachers and school staff will have received at least one dose by the end of the month. "My challenge to all states, territories and the District of Columbia is this: We want every educator, school staff member, child care worker to receive at least one shot by the end of the month of March," he said on Tuesday. Biden noted that more than 30 states have already prioritized teachers for vaccinations but said he is using the "full authority of the federal government" in directing states to do the same. The White House is also seriously considering appointing a “czar” to coordinate the effort to reopen schools, an administration official said. Other sources close to the matter say it’s possible that Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the California State Board of Education, who ran the edu cation team for the Biden transition, will take on some sort of role in the reopening effort.
Washington Post The Hill Politico
----- TEACHER STRESS-----
Teachers quitting due to stress, survey says
Public school teachers are quitting the profession primarily due to stress, according to the RAND Corporation, which surveyed nearly 1,000 former public school teachers in December. Of those, 55% quit in the two school years leading up to the pandemic, while the others left after March 2020. Some 43% of all the teachers who left voluntarily and before their scheduled retirement said they did so because "the stresses and disappointments of teaching weren’t worth it," almost twice as many as those who blamed low pay. Many said they were "spread thin" with technology challenges, a decline in student engagement, the fear of contracting COVID-19 and personal child-care or caretaking responsibilities. “Stress, stress, stress, that seems at the heart of teachers’ decisions to leave. COVID has fanned the flames of stress,” comments Heather Schwartz, director of the pre -K-12 educational systems program at RAND and an author of the report.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Testing programs reveal extent of pandemic learning loss
Since schools across the U.S. first closed last spring, sending about 50 million children to learn remotely, one looming question for educators and parents has been the extent of student learning loss. Data from two national testing programs, Renaissance Learning and NWEA, which are used widely by U.S. public schools to assess students’ progress, show widespread performance declines at the start of this academic year, particularly in math. Renaissance’s results showed that learning declines were particularly acute for fifth and sixth graders, who started the school year 12 or more weeks behind their expected performance in math. NWEA’s report found that for grades 4 through 8, compared with the previous year, more students’ math performance slid within the score distribution, meaning they performed worse relative to their peers than in the previous winter. Th e largest declines were found among late-elementary and early-middle-school students. Reading scores held relatively steady. Both studies included students testing both in-person and remotely. Many schools that reopened offered a hybrid plan with some students in person and others remote, or with some part-time in both setups. Additionally, mid-year data from the DIBELS early reading assessment of approximately 400,000 students in over 1,400 schools in 41 states shows grades K-3 are performing worse at the middle of the 2020-21 school year than the same period last year. Compared to this time last school year, the percentage of students on track decreased from 55% to 37% for kindergartners, and 58% to 43% for 1st-graders. Meanwhile, the percentage of students needing intensive intervention jumped from 28% to 47% for kindergartners, or a 68% increase, and 26% to 43% for 1st-graders, or a 65% increase.
Miguel Cardona confirmed as Education Secretary
The Senate confirmed Miguel Cardona to serve as education secretary Monday, on a bipartisan 64-33 vote. The son of Puerto Rican parents, he grew up in public housing in Meriden, Conn., and attended public schools throughout his life. He started as a struggling English-language learner and went on to become an elementary-school teacher, an award-winning principal, an assistant superintendent in that school system and Connecticut’s first Latino commissioner of education. “At this moment of crisis, Dr. Cardona is exactly the leader we need at the Department of Education,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “He has the experience, principles and perspective that we need in this critical role.” He will be sworn in this morning by Vice President Kamala Harris.
New York Times Washington Post
Vaccinating teachers 'my top priority,' Cardona says
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Wednesday that ensuring that teachers are swiftly vaccinated so that schools can reopen is his top priority. “We must continue to reopen America’s schools for in-person learning as quickly and as safely as possible. The president recognizes this, which is why he took bold action yesterday to get teachers and school staff vaccinated quickly,” Mr Cardona said while touring Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in his Connecticut hometown of Meriden. First lady Jill Biden accompanied him. A community college professor, she has made education one of her key focuses as first lady. “Teachers want to be back. We want to be back,’” she comments.
The Hill Washington Examiner New York Times
----- STATE NEWS -----
California to provide $2bn to accelerate school reopenings
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders announced an agreement Monday to give school districts $2bn to open schools for students in transitional kindergarten through second grade by April 1st, focusing on California’s youngest children after almost a year of distance learning. However, the framework, detailed in Assembly Bill 86, leaves it to local school districts to bargain with employees over when and how to reopen. The deal marks the completion of weeks of negotiations at the state Capitol and a compromise that merges current public health guidelines with earlier school reopening proposals introduced separately by the governor and lawmakers. The California Federation of Teachers said it intends to work with local districts to “build upon the testing framework laid out by the state” and had hoped to see more safety enforcement in the bill. The proposal includes $25m for a “Safe Schools for All Team” under the state public health department that will be responsible as of March 15th for conducting safety reviews of schools with two or more outbreaks.
Wall Street Journal Los Angeles Times San Francisco Chronicle The Signal EdSource
----- DISTRICTS -----
San Francisco parents pressure school board members to reopen
Parent groups are stepping up against San Francisco’s elected school board over complaints that members have prioritized social justice issues, like renaming schools, over getting kids back in classrooms. “The people and businesses of San Francisco have worked very hard, have sacrificed, to keep our COVID levels low, and our schools have been closed entirely throughout,” says Patrick Wolff, one of the parents who formed the Campaign for Better San Francisco Public Schools, which can fund-raise for political campaigns. On February 3rd the city, which doesn’t have direct control over schools, sued the district alleging that it violated state law by not putting forward "a viable reopening plan."
Beverley Hills teachers union files suit against school district
The Beverly Hills Education Association, the union representing the city's teachers, is pursuing legal action against Beverly Hills USD. In an Unfair Practice Charge filed Wednesday with the California Public Employment Relations Board, the BHEA argued that the district violated their agreement by reopening campuses to elementary school students before COVID-19 case rates had fallen to agreed-upon levels. The union has also requested an injunction that would reverse the BHUSD's "unilateral changes to the parties' agreements" and prevent the district's plans for in-person learning to resume on March 4th for grades TK-2 and March 8th for grades 3-5.
LAUSD to receive extra vaccine doses
Gov. Gavin Newsom has agreed to set aside 25,000 additional COVID-19 vaccine doses over the next two weeks for Los Angeles USD school employees, Superintendent Austin Beutner said Monday, keeping the district on course to reopen its elementary schools in April. LAUSD is being prioritized for doses because it serves such a high proportion of students from low-income families and with high needs, said a Newsom administration official who requested anonymity because he was not yet authorized to release the information. Mr Beutner called the promise of 25,000 does a “game changer.” He added that the 25,000 immunizations from the state is in addition to an expected allotment of 8,800 this week and 8,800 next week through the county, which distributes doses of the vaccine among the county’s 80 school systems. “That commitment aligns with his and my values,” he said . “Our community serves students and families who’ve been amongst those most impacted by this virus.”
Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Daily News
LAUSD: schools can resume interscholastic athletics
Los Angeles USD announced yesterday that interscholastic competition can resume, 12 months after a coronavirus-imposed shutdown was introduced. All activities will be held outdoors with strict safety protocols and weekly testing. Football, cross-country, baseball, softball, water polo, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field and cheer are the sports mentioned. It will still be up to individual principals whether to resume sports activities. A meeting of district athletic directors is scheduled today to review what a return to sports will look like. Teams have begun scheduling practices beginning Monday.
----- CLASSROOM -----
Discipline adapts and evolves through pandemic learning
Teachers are finding it's more difficult to redirect students in the classroom due to social distancing requirements, such as requiring teachers to remain in front of the room rather than circulate. Teaching social skills is also more challenging with fewer opportunities to interact and socialize. The constraints of the pandemic are forcing education leaders to rethink school disciplinary practices and how they're applied in practice. Illinois' Transforming School Discipline Collaborative last year issued a report on rethinking discipline in remote and blended learning developed by attorneys, educators and youth. The document highlights the opportunity presented by the public health crisis to change policies and practices rather than returning to punitive approaches as "normal." For example, the report urges schools to recognize the individual experiences of students, families, educators and s taff during the pandemic, adopt restorative practices to address conflict and harm, and implement practices to support educators and staff as they heal from trauma. It also suggests schools work to greatly reduce or eliminate exclusionary discipline during this time and revise policies to focus on restorative rather than punitive practices.
Massive Investment In Civics Education Proposed To Address Loss Of Trust In Democratic Institutions
The Washington Post (3/1, Heim) reports that “a diverse collection of academics, historians, teachers, school administrators and state education leaders is proposing an overhaul of the way civics and history are taught to American K-12 students.” They’re “calling for a massive investment of funds, teacher training and curriculum development to help make that happen.” The Educating for American Democracy (EAD) initiative will “release a 36-page report and an accompanying 39-page road map Tuesday, laying out extensive guidance for improving and reimagining the teaching of social studies, history and civics and then implementing that over the next decade.”
Education Week (3/1, Schwartz) reports that “students should learn about the importance of civic participation, the founding of American democracy, and the notion that civil disagreement is baked into the US Constitution and is part of the American experiment, they state.” Paul O. Carrese, an Arizona State University professor and contributor to the guidelines, said, “We hope there’s a recognition that some constructive answer has come forward from a nationwide, cross-ideological, balanced view that lack of civics knowledge is a problem for our education system at all levels. We just don’t have to be stuck in warring factions and different views of civics and history, and how to teach it, and what it is.”
The Seventy Four (3/1, Mahnken) reports that “some level of cross-ideological cooperation may prove necessary if Educating for American Democracy is to find any success.” Previous attempts “to tweak American history instruction, even when offered as voluntary resources to states, have been dragged into a familiar cycle of hopeful unveiling followed by political backlash.” A set of National History Standards, “also initiated partly through the assistance of the National Endowment for the Humanities, were met with outrage in the 1990s for their supposedly unpatriotic implications.” Just a few years ago, “after the College Board revised its AP US History framework, several red states moved to ban its use in classrooms.”
Former Ed Secretaries Promote Civics Education Program. In an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal (3/1, Subscription Publication), former U.S. education secretaries Lamar Alexander, Arne Duncan, John King, Rod Paige, Richard Riley, and Margaret Spellings write that despite their differences on policy, they all believe that the Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy provides a promising path for civics education that promotes unity.
New national civics guidelines to address trust in democracy
A diverse collection of academics, historians, teachers, school administrators and state education leaders is proposing an overhaul of the way civics and history are taught to American K-12 students. The Educating for American Democracy (EAD) initiative has produced a 36-page report and accompanying 39-page roadmap setting out extensive guidance for improving and reimagining the teaching of social studies, history and civics and then implementing that over the next decade. Work on the report began two years ago with $650,000 in grants from the Education Department and the National Endowment for the Humanities to come up with a plan to address what some have described as an existential issue for the country. The grant was later increased to $1.1 million. More than 300 individuals with experience at all levels of civics, political science and social studies education contributed to the project, including ma ny with disparate views and ideas about how the work should be done. The report calls for an inquiry-based approach that would focus less on memorizing dates of wars and names of presidents and more on exploring in depth the questions and developments, good and bad, that have created the America we live in today and plan to live in well beyond the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
Washington Post Education Week
----- LEGAL -----
Have public school district boundaries had their day?
Nearly a year into the COVID-19 crisis, communities across the country are challenging long-held assumptions about public education, including the role of district boundaries in shaping everything from funding to educational opportunities. Lawmakers in various states, including Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas, have taken notice and are prioritizing legislation that would allow students to more easily transfer to schools outside of their residentially-assigned districts, which is commonly referred to as open enrollment. In a piece for The Hill Aaron Garth Smith and Christian Barnard of the Reason Foundation argue that policymakers should rethink the role of district boundaries, including how public education is still inexplicably linked to real estate, which prohibits or discourages families from transferring to other districts.
----- TESTING ----
State test results will be tough to interpret, warn experts
Following the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement that states must hold standardized tests this year, a number of state officials have gathered virtually to hear from leading testing experts. A panel organized by the Council of Chief State School Officers discussed how this year’s results should be interpreted, in light of possible declines in student participation. An estimated one in three U.S. students is attending a school operating entirely remotely, and many families where schools are offering in-person learning have chosen not to send their children back into buildings. For states that choose a straightforward approach - testing students in person this spring - participation is likely to be lower than normal as families opt out over safety concerns. Experts say that means the tests likely won’t be able to offer the kind of complete or comparable data policymakers rely on i n a typical year. “State testing isn’t one of those things that if you build it, they will come,” said testing consultant Marianne Perie. Federal officials have signaled to state leaders that they could change how testing works this year to boost participation rates. One option is for states to allow students to take exams remotely, while another is to give the tests next fall, when more students are likely to be back in school buildings for regular instruction. Another way to account for the missing students involves making statistical projections. A state could use data from students who do take the tests to make an educated guess about the results for seemingly similar students who don’t take the tests.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Majority want teacher vaccines ahead of school reopenings
A study from the Pew Research Center has found that a majority of adults, 59%, support waiting to reopen K-12 schools until all teachers who want a coronavirus vaccine have received a dose. Eighty percent of Black adults, 69% of Hispanic adults and 72% of Asian American adults were in favor of waiting until teachers received vaccines, while results were more evenly split among whites with 51% in favor of waiting and 48% in favor of reopening as soon as possible. The report also indicated that more respondents are concerned than they were last year about the impact that the lack of in-person learning would have on students, rising to 61% of U.S. adults from 48% in 2020. The survey was conducted from February 15th-21st, and surveyed 10,121 U.S. adults.
CDC guidelines suggest most schools should remain closed
Only 4% of the nation’s schoolchildren live in counties where coronavirus transmission is low enough for full-time in-person learning without additional restrictions, according to the guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an analysis of the agency’s latest figures. As of Thursday, the CDC’s thresholds to avoid major restrictions put most counties in categories where the agency recommended elementary schools reduce the number of students in classrooms with a mix of in-person and at-home learning. For middle and high schools, the thresholds and data suggest fully remote learning in large portions of the country. In Massachusetts only one county, Franklin, has low enough COVID-19 incidence rates to meet the CDC’s criteria for fully reopening elementary, middle and high schools. The guidelines recommend that schools reopen five days a week only in communities with fewer than 50 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in a week and a seven-day positive test rate of less than 8%, unless regular testing is offered.
-----TECHNOLOGY -----
Educators flocking to Clubhouse app
Educators are flocking to Clubhouse, an emerging invitation-only social app for iPhone users which already boasts over 10 million users. With most users saying their experiences on the app are largely free of the "toxicity" that plagues the user experiences of Facebook and Twitter, the Urban Educator Consortium, an ad hoc group which hosts discussions on education-related issues, has amassed thousands of members on the app, as has a group called the Teachers' Lounge, which provides space for educators to discuss the "nuts and bolts" of instruction. Marquise Richards, an instructional aide at KIPP Philadelphia Schools, says he’d love to see the style of conversation that happens in Clubhouse translate to classroom interactions with students. While privacy concerns shadow the app's rise, topics recently discussed on the app include; dealing with teacher shortages, supporting Black male educato r and how teachers are portrayed in the media.
-----CHARTER SCHOOLS -----
Accused A3 charter school ringleaders plead guilty to conspiracy
An Australian man and his Southern California business partner who ran a network of online charter schools pleaded guilty Friday to felony charges tied to a massive fraud scheme that siphoned $50m in education funds from the state to invest in start-up companies and real estate. Sean McManus and Jason Schrock, creators of the now-defunct A3 charter school network, each admitted in San Diego Superior Court to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of public funds. As part of their plea agreement, the two men agreed to return more than $210m in cash, 13 houses and shares in third-party companies that were fruits of the A3 scheme, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said. Prosecutors accused A3 leaders of buying children’s personal information to falsely enroll them into the schools and providing incomplete education services, while taking tens of millions of dolla rs for personal use. A3 leaders also manipulated enrollment across their schools to receive more state funding per student and manipulated school attendance reporting to get more money
San Diego Union-Tribune Washington Post
----- OTHER -----
NTA Life Insurance - An ABCFT Sponsor
About three years ago ABCFT started a working relationship with National Teachers Associates Life Insurance Company. Throughout our partnership, NTA has been supportive of ABCFT activities by sponsorship and prizes for our various events. This organization specializes in providing insurance for educators across the nation. We have been provided both data and member testimonials about how pleased they have been with the NTA products and the opportunity to look at alternatives to the district insurance choice.
To All Members of the ABC Federation of Teachers,
National Teacher Associates (NTA) is committed in our efforts to helping educators through tough times. It’s what we do. After all…in our eyes you are the heart and soul of our communities.
Protecting you and your families has been our goal for over 45 years. Despite the current global pandemic, we are not about to slow down now. We know that many of you have had our programs for years and sometimes forget the intricacies of how they work. NTA wants to help facilitate any possible claims for now and in the future. Fortunately, all claims and reviews can be done by phone and on-line. I personally want to offer my services to guide you in the right direction with your NTA benefits.
We also apologize for not being able to finish the open enrollment for those of you who wanted to get our protection. We are still able to help by extending our enrollment window for the near future. Again, this can be done over the phone, email, or on-line.
Please contact Leann Blaisdell at any time either by phone or email.
562-822-5004
leann.blaisdell@ntarep.com
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